Samantha Who? Review:
"Help!" (Episode 205)

On last night's Samantha Who? we saw Sam drive for the first time. And then we saw Sam get pulled over for running a red light after freaking out that the cop next to her “knows.” Not sure what he knew, but what we found out is that Sam has a bit of a record in her past, and was swiftly ordered 100 hours of community service.

Of course, our gal shined happily to the news, as she has spent much of the second season trying to figure out ways to help the community. Too bad for her that her choice of community service (building houses for the needy) turns out to be a stint sorting mixed nails out of a paint bucket with hilarious guest star Mary Kate Olsen. MKO plays Natalie, a disgruntled youth that Sam decides to take under her wing in order to make up for the lack of real service being had at her nail sorting gig. Between this and Weeds, the twin has a lot going for her on the tube these days.

Sam gets Natalie a job interview at her old real-estate firm but the deal turns bad when Sam takes the youngster shopping and she gets caught stealing a jacket. Natalie's off the hook (after a harsh tongue lashing from Sam) but Sam and Dena have to go to jail since they unknowingly (at the time) drove the getaway car. Andrea has to bail them out hours later and they get assigned joint community service. This time, Sam chooses the more stereotypical service choice: roadside trash pickup.

In Todd Subplot Land, the pseudo-boyfriend spends the episode trying to fix Sam’s broken sink. When he can't figure it out, her dad comes over to help and ends up giving the lad some advice on his relationship with Sam and how to win her back. Motivated, he decorates her room as a surprise for the Paris trip they never took as a couple, but she never arrives home to see it. That, or he decides to rip it down before she gets home; it’s not really clear. What is clear is that the whole will-they-won’t-they device used on many TV series in order to keep people watching is testing our patience. Either way, the most puzzling male problem in the episode didn’t have anything to do with Todd. What happened to Sam’s new guy, the dreamy Owen from last week? He wasn't even mentioned.